1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus, system, and method for unloading pallets and more particularly to an apparatus, system, and method for coupling unloading ramps to pallets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wooden and plastic pallets are ubiquitous in the shipping industry. Nearly every shipment of bulky items comes attached to a pallet. Typically the pallet provides a standard interface for forklift blades when lifting the cargo and pallet for transport. Pallets provide an additional benefit of having a standardized size, enabling goods loaded on pallets to be packed tightly together during shipping.
Because pallets typically must provide some room for insertion of forklift blades, the upper surface of the pallet may be as much as seven inches above the ground. When the pallet and its cargo arrive at a final destination, the recipient must typically find some means to move the cargo the seven inches from the top of the pallet to the ground. Such an operation can be very problematic for bulky, delicate items such as large computer systems, of which pre-configured server racks are a common example. In a typical scenario, the end recipient of a computer system is not in the shipping business and will not have the know-how or equipment to easily unload the computer system from the pallet. Given the great weight of computer systems, the recipient may risk injury or damage to the cargo by unloading the cargo improperly.
One solution to this problem is to ship unloading ramps with the cargo and pallet. Such ramps may be mountable to the pallet to ease the movement of the cargo from the pallet to the ground. However, unloading ramps present some additional difficulties. For example, if the ramp is not properly secured to the pallet, it may shift while the cargo is unloading, with potentially disastrous results. If the top of the ramp is not aligned with the top of the pallet, the cargo may experience a ruinous jolt when it falls from the pallet onto the ramp. Alternatively, if the ramp is higher than the top of the pallet, the cargo may tend to catch on the ramp and tip as it is pushed off the pallet or push the ramp away from the pallet altogether.
Prior attempts to bundle ramps with a pallet and cargo have a number of deficiencies. Some fail to provide any mechanisms for securing the ramp to the pallet. Those attempts that secure the ramps to the pallet require user intervention to secure the ramps to the pallet. That is, the user must both position the ramp and take steps to secure the ramp to the pallet. Requiring users to take additional steps to secure the ramp to the pallet is problematic for two reasons.
First, due to the inexperience of the typical user, a user who is unloading cargo may not realize that additional steps are needed to secure a ramp. Therefore, a user may not be prompted to, for example, find a fastener among the packaging of a computer system and may neglect to use the fastener to secure the ramp.
Secondly, in order for a user to secure a ramp to a pallet using a fastener, such as a bolt, the ramp and pallet must be precisely sized. For example, to secure the ramp to the pallet with a bolt, an aperture on the ramp must typically be aligned with an aperture on the pallet in order to insert the bolt there through. This requirement for alignment imposes excessive requirements for dimensional precision. Pallets and ramps are typically made very inexpensively out of rough-cut boards subject to very loose tolerance in both their size and position when assembled. Requiring precise measurements when placing holes to receive bolts increases the cost of an otherwise simple article.
In addition, pallets are subject to rough handling and moisture during shipping, both of which can affect the shape and size of the pallet. The weight of cargo may deform the pallet or crush portions of the pallet. Moisture causes wood to swell and distort. This deformation of the pallet during shipment makes aligning the ramp and pallet for securement with traditional fasteners even more difficult. Even where a fastener is usable to fasten the ramp to the pallet, distortion of the pallet may cause the upper surface of the ramp to be misaligned with respect to the upper surface of the pallet, leading to difficulties in unloading.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method that can securely attach a ramp to a pallet without the need for a separate fastener. Such a device should integrate the steps of positioning the ramp and securing the ramp to the pallet to accommodate inexperienced users. Beneficially, such an apparatus would align the upper surface of the ramp with the upper surface of the pallet without the need for precise construction of the pallet and without regard to distortion of the pallet.